The 5 Best Things About Reformed Theology and/or Calvinism:
5. (And ironically, it can be one of the worst) Their understanding of predestination. While it may well lead to monstrous determinisms, according to some, had I been a member of the Dutch Reformed Church at Dort, I know which side I'd choose. A brief note to Drs. Walls and Dongell at Asbury--and it is spoken with all the charity I can muster--your book stinks. Did you purposely avoid the relevant scriptures, or was it a mistake?
4. Biblical fidelity. Leaving aside the critiques which come from many quarters on this point, (and many others) there should be no doubt that the Reformed value the Bible and its teachings highly, and their reputation for knowledge and zeal for God's Word is well deserved.
3. John Calvin. Now, before you jump on me, and I get letters from Hillaire Belloc's grandson and the Servetus Admiration Society reminding me that Calvin was a heretic and a monster, let me point out that, while far from perfect, Calvin deserves a much fairer portrait than his harshest critics would give him. By my arguably limited read of things, he was a warm man who cared deeply for Christian people. Whether he is a heretic depends largely on one's read of the historical situation, and the definition of proper hermeneutics. (Though of course, not objectively, in the mind of God; He knows.) I do know that he was a much more careful theologian and teacher than I would be/am.
2. The unity of the Old and New Testament/biblical theology. The Reformed do not make a regular practice of disdaining the Old Testament (as they understand it). Quite the opposite. They rightly attend to the Scripture as a narrative, from which we may draw the truth of God at any point in the story. Yes, it is right to rejoice in and prioritize the New Testament, because it is the fullness of the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. However, none of us should forget that our New Testaments would make very little sense without the Hebrew Scriptures, and that our Reformed bretheren try hard to ascertain how to apply them rightly for us today.
1. Covenant Theology. The deceptively simple notion that God relates to his people always through a mediator who intercedes for them, never (primarily) as individuals. Now, of course, we relate to God through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom all the others pointed, in some sense. The Reformed are not alone in this notion, but I know that it finds no more complete expression among Protestants than among the Reformed. (In my experience)
5. (And ironically, it can be one of the worst) Their understanding of predestination. While it may well lead to monstrous determinisms, according to some, had I been a member of the Dutch Reformed Church at Dort, I know which side I'd choose. A brief note to Drs. Walls and Dongell at Asbury--and it is spoken with all the charity I can muster--your book stinks. Did you purposely avoid the relevant scriptures, or was it a mistake?
4. Biblical fidelity. Leaving aside the critiques which come from many quarters on this point, (and many others) there should be no doubt that the Reformed value the Bible and its teachings highly, and their reputation for knowledge and zeal for God's Word is well deserved.
3. John Calvin. Now, before you jump on me, and I get letters from Hillaire Belloc's grandson and the Servetus Admiration Society reminding me that Calvin was a heretic and a monster, let me point out that, while far from perfect, Calvin deserves a much fairer portrait than his harshest critics would give him. By my arguably limited read of things, he was a warm man who cared deeply for Christian people. Whether he is a heretic depends largely on one's read of the historical situation, and the definition of proper hermeneutics. (Though of course, not objectively, in the mind of God; He knows.) I do know that he was a much more careful theologian and teacher than I would be/am.
2. The unity of the Old and New Testament/biblical theology. The Reformed do not make a regular practice of disdaining the Old Testament (as they understand it). Quite the opposite. They rightly attend to the Scripture as a narrative, from which we may draw the truth of God at any point in the story. Yes, it is right to rejoice in and prioritize the New Testament, because it is the fullness of the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. However, none of us should forget that our New Testaments would make very little sense without the Hebrew Scriptures, and that our Reformed bretheren try hard to ascertain how to apply them rightly for us today.
1. Covenant Theology. The deceptively simple notion that God relates to his people always through a mediator who intercedes for them, never (primarily) as individuals. Now, of course, we relate to God through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom all the others pointed, in some sense. The Reformed are not alone in this notion, but I know that it finds no more complete expression among Protestants than among the Reformed. (In my experience)
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